Not mulch left! 12 tonnes of free compost given away in just one hour

Compost

Victoria Bull

Keen gardeners in Dacorum snapped up a total of 600 bags of free compost within an hour during a giveaway event by Dacorum Borough Council.

The third annual event, held on Sunday, marked national Compost Awareness Week, and organisers learned from the huge demand last year by pre-bagging the loose material to reduce queuing times.

The lucky recipients have their neighbours across Dacorum to thank, as the 12 tonnes of compost were made from the contents of the borough’s green wheely bins.

Last year, around 15,600 tonnes of food waste, cardboard and garden waste were recycled this way instead of being sent to landfill sites, before eco-company Envar turned the contents into nutrient-rich compost.

The borough council’s portfolio holder for environmental services and sustainability Julie Laws said: “The event was a great success and attracted many keen gardeners.

“I would like to thank everyone who came to the event and I hope that events like this will help to encourage more people to start composting either at home or by placing their food waste, garden waste and cardboard in the green wheeled bin”.